Trapped on Tatooine
by Yatzstar
Summary: When a mission to Tatooine to recover a Force sensitive twi'lek goes awry, Kura Sai ends up forced to act as a slave in Jabba's palace, humiliated. Now, the Jedi must figure out how to retrieve her. AU. Sequel to An Unusual Bounty. 3 years before ANH. No flames! Rated T for mild violence and VERY mild suggestiveness.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Yay! Sequel time!**

* * *

The Jedi Base on Cholganna was having a peaceful day, until the transmissions were received.

The day started normally. The Jedi got up, ate, and went about their business. Then, transmissions from Kamino came in.

The doors to the transmission room opened and Ahsoka walked in, accompanied by the bounty hunter, Boba Fett.

He had come to be with the Jedi two months prior, after a miraculous encounter with a certain crazy Jedi, convincing him to the side of the Light.

"What is it?" the togruta Jedi asked Aayla Secura, her long lekku dragging on the floor.

"Transmission from Plo." The blue twi'lek moved aside, revealing the hologram of the Kel Dor Jedi.

"Little 'Soka," Plo Koon hissed through his mask.

Ahsoka scowled at the usage of her baby nickname.

"…and Fett."he continued, acknowledging the bounty hunter, who stood with an impassive scowl, as usual. "We have found a Force sensitive twi'lek on the planet of Tatooine."

Aayla perked up. "A twi'lek?"

Plo nodded. "Yes. We judge her to be around the early teen years. She has been taken from her home planet of Ryloth."

"What is her location on Tatooine?" Ahsoka asked.

"Jabba the Hutt's palace."

Silence settled over the room. Jabba the Hutt was a notorious crime lord and gangster, famous for taking female twi'leks from their home and forcing them to be slaves and dancers in his court. Aayla had once been forced to do that, though fortunately not for very long.

"Oh, poor girl." Aayla muttered.

Ahsoka nodded. "We will see what we can do."

The hologram shut off.

They turned away from the hologram board. Ahsoka shook her head. "I just don't know how we can get the girl out of there!"

"Why not?" Boba growled for the first time.

"We were in there two months ago when we were looking for you." Aayla said. "And… we may have revealed ourselves as Jedi."

"Great." Boba grunted.

"So we can't go in there, or else they would recognize us in an instant."

Ahsoka paced up and down. "What are we going to do?"

At that moment, footsteps came down the hall, and a girl skipped past the door.

A large smile formed on Ahsoka's face. "I got it."

Aayla facepalmed. "Oi."

"Yo, Kura!" Ahsoka bellowed.

The footsteps stopped, then receded back towards the room. The girl appeared in the doorway, almost bonking into the doorframe.

"Yeah?"

Kura Sai. Her long messy golden hair hung past her shoulders, framing her face, which had its usual crazy smile on it, her brown eyes glittering. Her Jedi robe pooled at her feet, far too long for one of her stature. She was only five feet, despite being nineteen. Boba had developed an attachment to her, even though his personality was exactly the opposite of hers. She had excelled at her Jedi training and had become a Jedi Master three years prior.

Ahsoka looked up and Boba with her creepy grin. He glared back.

"We have a job for you." She said.

"What?" Kura asked.

"Well, we found a Force sensitive twi'lek in Jabba the Hutt's palace on Tatooine."

"Hm. A Force sensitive child. Haven't had one of those in quite a while."

"However, as you know, we were in there two months ago and revealed ourselves as Jedi, so we can't go in there. But," she pointed at Kura. "You can!"

"I'll do it!" Kura said.

Ahsoka clapped her hands. "Great! Let's go try on clothes!"

"Clothes?" Kura said in confusion. "What you talking aboooouuuu…" She said the last part as she was hauled out the door.

Boba shared a look with Aayla. This should be good.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Nick: Read on and find out! Btw, I'm not sure what it is with the weird spacing on this document :/**

* * *

Boba and Aayla listened to the argument through the closed door. It had been half an hour since Ahsoka had dragged Kura off, and they had just come back, but they had not seen her yet.

"Ahsoka!" Kura's voice hissed. "I'm not gonna wear this!"  
"I'm sorry!" Ahsoka's voice replied. "But this is the only thing I had! It's laundry day."

"It's embarrassing!"

"Oh come on! I think you look cute!"

"Of course _you_ would say that! These are your clothes!"

"Come on!"

The door opened, and Kura was shoved through, bonking straight into Boba. He put a hand on her shoulder, steadying her.

She was wearing Ahsoka's signature outfit, consisting of a strip of red cloth across her chest, a leather skirt with a togrutan emblem, white leggings, and leather boots.

Boba's only response was to raise an eyebrow. Kura turned away self consciously. Everybody knew that Kura did not like wearing anything besides her usual Jedi garb.

Aayla grabbed her shoulders and inspected her. "Looks good. The only thing that needs to change is the togrutan seal. We don't want to raise any suspicion."

"I'm not going to go in that place alone, am I?" Kura asked nervously.

"Nope!" Ahsoka said. "Fortunately, we were able to place a mind trick over them, so at least they wouldn't remember me."

"Okay, are we the only ones coming?"

"No." Aayla said. "Me, Kit, and Boba are coming as well for backup, but you and Ahsoka are going to be the only ones entering the palace."

"What's our cover story?"

"You are going to be working for Fett, which you technically are kind of doing already."

"Is that it?"

"That about covers it."

Kura turned to Ahsoka. "Can I get out of this now?"

Ahsoka crossed her arms. "I think you look nice in it. Maybe you should stay in that-"

"Not happening." Kura marched out of the room.

* * *

Later, in the evening, Kura sat in her flowered glade, deep in meditation. She went here at least twice a day to clear her mind of stress. She listened to the wind rustle through the leaves on the trees. The night air was humid, as always, on Cholganna.

She had changed back into her large robe, refusing to wear the more revealing outfit for longer than necessary.

One eye opened as she heard footsteps approaching. "Boba."

She felt a hand on the top of her head. "How did you guess?"

"Your steps are heavier than anyone else's." She murmured.

"It's getting dark." Boba said. "You should come back inside. The Nexus start coming out around this time."

Before Kura could respond, she felt two hands grip her under her arms and lift her to her feet.

"Are you giving me a choice?" she asked.

"No." he said. "Come on." He steered her away by the shoulder.

"Why can't I sit outside after dark?" she complained. "I have _two_ lightsabers, you know. You are so annoying sometimes."

"You irritate me every day." He growled. "It's only fair."

"Funny. And I'm going to have to wear that outfit tomorrow in front of who knows how many slimey scum tomorrow."

"I don't think it's that bad."

Kura turned to face him, annoyance etched on her face as she stared up at him. "Of course _you_ would say that!"

Boba raised his hands in submission. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I forgot how much you hate doing things like that."

Kura took his hand, hers appearing small in his large one. "Apology accepted." She dragged him off toward the Jedi base.

* * *

Later on, Ahsoka entered Kura's room, holding two blasters. "Check out what I found!"

Kura set aside the pen and paper she had been drawing with. She removed her Jedi robe, revealing her outfit, which consisted of a gray short sleeve shirt, pants woven from strips of leather in different shades of brown, leather boots, and a red scarf tied about her waist.

"What are those for?"

Ahsoka tossed them to her. "Well, you can't pretend to be a bounty hunter without some form of weapon! See how they fit."

Kura unclipped her lightsabers from her scarf, one that hung at her side, and one that she kept hidden in the back of her scarf for emergencies. She shoved the blasters into her scarf.

"Hm. A bit heavier than I'm used to, but it's fine." She judged. She took one out of her scarf and aimed it around the room, pointing at imaginary targets.

Ahsoka ducked. "Woah! Be careful where you point that thing! It's loaded."

Kura fumbled with it and dropped it. "Well why didn't you tell me that before I was pointing it at things?"

Ahsoka picked up the fallen gun. "Sorry! Gimmee that other one." She grabbed the other one. "I guess we're all set for tomorrow, then."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm going to be gone ANOTHER week, sorry! I might manage to get another chapter up before I go though. And Nick, I guess I'm fast, and it's summer, so I have time.**

* * *

The next day, Kura walked into the ship hangar, decked out in her bounty hunter outfit. Everybody else was already there.

Kura handed her lightsabers over to the green nautolan, Kit Fisto. "Keep these, just in case we need them."

"Got it."

Ahsoka walked over, handing her a blaster. "This one's for you. Be careful with it." She had swung one of her lekku across her shoulders, giving her a rougher look.

Kura took it and put the gun in her belt. "Ahsoka, can I please just wear my robe till we get there?"

"What's the point?"

Kura turned away in frustration.

…I'm glad we're going to have another twi'lek around." Aayla was saying to kit. She was right. She was the only one of her species on the Jedi base.

Over next to the _Slave I_, Boba was strapping on his Mandolorian armor.

He looked up as Kura walked over. "Don't you look like a little bounty hunter?"

"Funny." Kura said, walking up into the _Slave I_.

When it was time for takeoff, Boba walked into the Slave I, taking his seat next to Kura.

"Ready?" Ahsoka's voice came over the commlink.

"Copy that." Kura responded.

The plan was to take two separate ships, so if they were pursued, they could split up.

Boba geared up the ship, and it folded into flying stance. Across the hangar, Kura saw the Jedi starfighter taking off as well.

Kura folded her knees to her chest, concealing herself as they flew over the trees of Cholganna and into the sky. "How long till we reach Tatooine?"

"About an hour."

"I hope Ahsoka knows what she's doing, because I sure don't."

"I'm sure she does. And Kura, these are legitimately dangerous people, so when you go in there, you need to be _careful_. Jabba is known for taking girls, even bounty hunters, and not letting them leave."

Kura shrunk down a little farther into her chair. "I wish you hadn't said that."

"Oh great." Came Ahsoka's voice over the commlink. "Now you've gone and scared her!"

Boba grabbed the transmitter. "Have you been listening in?"

"A little."

Kura laughed as Boba shut it off.

"As I was saying," he growled. "Don't do anything stupid. I'm hoping that you can get in and out with the girl without any problems."

"I know a serious situation when I see one, Boba." Kura said. Don't underestimate me."

* * *

Soon enough, the desert surface of Tatooine loomed into view. As they flew over the planet, Kura looked out, seeing desert, rocks, and sand, the twin suns beating down.

"I've never seen so much sand!" Kura said.

"It's a desert planet." Boba said. "It's covered in sand."

"Wow…"

The Jedi starfighter and the Slave I flew over the surface of the planet toward the large city on the horizon, landing outside the city limits.

Kura stood up, gathering her things together. "Thanks for flying me here." She turned to go, but Boba's voice stopped her.

"Kura."

She turned back. "What?"

He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.

As always, she blushed when he kissed her. "What was that for?"

He chucked her under the chin lightly as he turned away. "Luck."

"I'm going to need a lot of it." Kura murmured as she exited the ship.

As soon as she stepped out of the ship, the blast furnace that was the Tatooine climate hit her. She gasped. Even Cholganna wasn't this hot!

"Yo!" Ahsoka yelled over. "You ready?"

"Uh huh." Kura said, still a bit stunned by the intensity of the heat.

"That's why I didn't let you bring your robe! You wouldn't last five seconds out here with that bif thing on."

"I suppose…" Her cheek still tingled from where Boba had kissed it.

"Transmitter work?"

"Yup." Kura held up her arm, showing the leather band wrapped around her wrist.

"Let's go."

"Remember, look tough." Ahsoka instructed Kura as they entered the city.

"Like you when somebody else wants the last piece of pie?"

"Exactly."

Kura eyed the rabble of the city as they walked through the streets. She noticed a boy, probably a couple of years younger than her, staring at them as they walked. She rolled her eyes. Boys.

"Where is this palace? She asked.

"There." Ahsoka pointed at a large metal domed structure in the distance, glinting copper in the sunlight.

By the time they reached the palace, it was late afternoon. It was hard navigating through the crowded streets of the city.

"I sense the Force here." Kura said. "They were right."

Ahsoka rapped on the door, sending off a metallic echoing sound. A robotic eye came out of a hatch in the metal, blinking at them.

"_What do you want?"_

"We're here on business for Boba Fett." Ahsoka answered.

The eye retreated into the hatch, and the door opened.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Yay! Got it written! Now I'm off for a week.**

* * *

A pink twi'lek with red eyes stood waiting for them. He looked them up and down, and seemed satisfied with what he saw. "This way." He hissed.

He let them down a dark, damp corridor.

Kura eyed the Gamorrean guards that watched them.

The pink twi'lek led them down a flight of stairs into a foul smelling room, filled with villainous scum from all corners of the universe.

Kura kept on having to remind herself not to run out, despite how embarrassed she was to be exposed to so many vermin.

The room fell silent as they walked in. As they passed by the stage, Kura looked up at the twi'lek slaves. They looked grateful for the rest. She felt sorry for them.

The pink twi'lek let them through the rabble, to where a large Hutt sat upon a throne. Kura looked it up and down, having never seen one before.

The twi'lek minion whispered something to the Hutt. Then, the Hutt said: "What do you want?"

"We are looking for a twi'lek," Ahsoka grunted. "for Boba Fett."

"Which twi'lek?"

Ahsoka turned and pointed. "That one." The one she indicated was a small yellow tinted one sitting off to the side. She looked only about ten. She shrunk back as Ahsoka pointed at her.

_Ahsoka_, Kura groaned inwardly. _She's already scared enough. Why do you have to go and scare her even more?_

"Why?" the Hutt said.

"A bounty has been put out for her by a client of Fett's. We are here to retrieve her."

"How come I have never seen you before?"

"We're new."

"What about your little friend? How come you're doing all the talking?"

"Do I need to talk?" Kura hissed.

A murmur rippled through the various aliens.

"What happens if we don't give you the girl?"

Ahsoka raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to make an enemy of Fett? I suggest you give us the girl. You out of everybody should know that."

The Hutt waved a stubby hand. "Hand the girl over to the bounty hunters."

A Gamorrean guard tromped across the room and unbound the little twi'lek from where she had been tied to the wall. Fortunately, she seemed unharmed.

Ahsoka took the rope that the girl was attached to. "Fett will here of this."

As they left the room, Jabba murmured to the pink twi'lek: "Seize them."

As they walked down the dark hallway toward the door, Kura whispered to Ahsoka: "They're sending guards after us."

"I know." Ahsoka whispered back.

At that moment, Kura whirled and drew her blaster, shooting a Gamorrean guard through the head. A whole hoard of them had appeared out of the darkness.

"Run!" Ahsoka urged the little twi'lek as they ran toward the open door of the palace.

Kura tripped over a rock and stumbled, but it was only momentary.

Ahsoka burst from the building with little girl, Gamorrean guards streaming out behind her. She ran through the streets, pushing past all sorts of people. She heard the Gamorrean guards behind her still.

Finally, the spaceships loomed into view. "Come on!" she urged the little twi'lek. "Just a little farther!" Her lekku had come lose from around her shoulders, and now they flew wildly behind her as she ran.

They ran up the ramp into the Jedi starfighter.

"Get out of here!" Ahsoka panted at Aayla, who had been jerked from a doze.

Aayla twirled a finger at Kit. "Get us out of here!"

"Got it." He geared up the ship. "Boba, it's time to go." He said over the transmission.

"Copy that." His voice growled back.

Aayla turned to Ahsoka. "Where is Kura?"

"She probably went with Boba."

Now," Aayla knelt in front of the little twi'lek. "Let's get these ropes off you. What's your name, little one?"

"'M Oola." She said as the ropes were undone from her. "Are you really bounty hunters?"

"No." Ahsoka said. "We are Jedi, and we came to rescue you from that place. Now, let's get you into some better clothes."

* * *

What the Jedi did not know, was that when Kura had stumbled, a Gamorrean guard had grabbed her.


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm back! Did you miss me? I gave you a longer chapter because I was gone so long. :D**

* * *

Both ships landed on Cholganna in the late afternoon.

Boba walked off his ship, helmet under his arm. He nodded to the little twi'lek. "Is that the one we need?"

"Yes." Kit said.

Ahsoka looked around. "Where's Kura at?"

"I thought she was with you." Boba said.

"No, I thought she went with _you_."

Ahsoka and Aayla looked at each other. "Uh oh."

* * *

Kura was dragged down an unknown maze of dark corridors by the Gamorrean guards. She struggled all the way, but to no avail. The guards kept a firm grip on her.

They opened a wooden door and threw her inside, slamming it behind her as she hit the ground hard.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" a voice gasped, joined by others. Pairs of hands grabbed her, pulling her upright.

Kura looked around, slightly dazed by her tumble. She was surrounded by scantily clad twi'lek dancers.

"It's the bounty hunter!" one said.

"That doesn't matter now." Another said. "Here, get her over by this wall."

The hands led her over to the wall, where she could lean against it. She looked around. She was in a dark, stone cell that was dimly lit by a grate high up near the ceiling. The room was fairly large.

"Are you okay?" the voice repeated.

Kura looked back to the twi'leks surrounding her in concern.

"I'm fine." Kura mumbled.

"What did you do with little Oola?" somebody demanded.

"Nothing!" Kura retorted. "We were trying to save her."

A gray twi'lek pushed through the mass. "Then I'm guessing you're not a bounty hunter, then." She handed her a cup of water. "Here. Drink this."

"Thanks." Kura took the cup and drank the water. It tasted stale, but it was better than nothing. "And no, I'm not a bounty hunter. We came to rescue…. Oola because she's… special. What am I even doing here?"

"My guess is that they want to keep you as a slave." The gray twi'lek said.

"You're kidding." Kura said.

The gray twi'lek shook her head. "I'm afraid not. All us twi'leks have fallen under the same predicament. I have been here the longest."

"Oh, how could I have been so stupid?" Kura growled. "He warned me about this!"

"Who warned you about what?"

"Boba warned me about Jabba taking girls like me and forcing them to work as slaves!"

"Boba?" The gray twi'lek asked. "As in Boba Fett?"

Kura nodded.

"But you're not a bounty hunter…"

Kura shook her head. "I'm not. He's helping us."

"Okay…" The gray twi'lek shook her head, confused. "Aside from that, I'm Lyn Me."

"I'm Kura Sai."

The other twi'leks introduced themselves, then dispersed into little groups about the room.

"So," Kura said. "Please tell me I'm not doing anything stupid."

Lyn Me shook her head. "No. We're done dancing today unless there are any guest, and if they request dancers. Most likely they will assign you a costume tomorrow."

"Worse than this?" Kura looked down at her borrowed outfit from Ahsoka.

"Probably."

Kura grimaced. "Ew."

Lyn rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it. But we have to comply unless we want to get fed to Jabba's pet Rancor."

"When you said you've been here the longest, how long might that be?"

"Six months."

Kura gaped. "Six months? I can't be here for six months!"

Lyn shrugged. "You might be out of here quickly. For example, there was this blue twi'lek in here a few months ago, and she was gone the next day. Nobody knows what happened to her. She wasn't fed to the Rancor or anything."

"Odd." Kura said. "But when I get out of here, I'm going to take every one of you with me. None of you deserve this."

Lyn shook her head. "That would be nice. But some have tried before…" her shoulders sagged. "and all have failed."

"Oh." Kura said quietly. "But I have a question. When Boba comes around, does he ever request… dancers?"

"No." Lyn said. "Not that I know of. What is your affiliation with him anyway? He doesn't usually 'help' people anyway."

"Well, let's just say a few months ago he had a change of heart from the way of the bounty hunter, and he now lives with me and my friends on Cholganna."

"Interesting." Lyn Me said. "and strange. Well come on. Let's find you a place to sleep."

* * *

The sun was slanting through the grate onto the far wall by the time the bread was brought. It wasn't actually that bad when there were fifteen other people in the room to talk to in the same room. All the twi'leks had become friends through the hatred of being forced to act as slaves for the villainous Hutt.

Lyn handed Kura a chunk of bread. "At least they feed us."

"Mm-hmm." Kura agreed, eager to eat. She hadn't had anything since that morning. "I meant to ask, where did all of you come from?"

"Mostly Ryloth. A handful of us came from other places. And you know," Lyn leaned closer. "I've met Boba Fett before."

Kura blinked. "Really?"

Lyn nodded. "Yeah. When I was a child. Our village was raided by slavers, and we scraped together enough credits to hire him. He saved my life."

"Wow…"

"I've followed his exploits since then, even though I haven't met him yet. I have always wondered what was under that was mask of his."

Kura kept silent.

"Story time!" a purple twi'lek called out.

"Huh?" Kura said in confusion.

"Oh!" Lyn Me exclaimed. "After we eat we always tell old Ryloth legends and other stuff like that."

"I might have a story then…"

"Ooh! Hey guys!" Lyn called. "Kura has a story to tell!"

Suddenly, she was surrounded by eager twi'leks, who were ready for a new story.

"Tell us!" they all urged.

"Okay." Kura settled down in a comfortable position. "So, there once was an evil lord who had driven his enemies into hiding, but, he did not know where his enemies had gone. So, he wanted to capture a girl that could tell him where his enemies were hidden, and he hired a man to capture the girl and bring her to him…"

* * *

"…and the Rancor's hand closed over her." Kura finished.

"What happened next?" The twi'leks chorused.

The room had become dark with the night, but the moon filtered through the grate, making the twilek's vibrant skin practically glow in the dark.

"You're going to have to wait till tomorrow night to find out!" Kura said.

"AAAAWW." All of them groaned, getting up from the floor from where they had been sitting around her.

"You can share my blanket." Lyn said.

"Thanks."

"That was a good story." She continued. "You tell it like it almost happened to you!"

"Eh, maybe I'm good at it." She lay down next to Lyn on the hard, damp floor. She was not looking forward to tomorrow.


	6. Chapter 6

"We have to go back there!" Boba growled. "NOW."

Ahsoka shook her head. "I'm sorry, but we can't now."

"Why not?"

"Jabba has connections with the Empire. If we keep going back, somebody might get suspicious, and we could we could risk exposing ourselves as Jedi…. Again."

"You have no idea what these people are capable of!" Boba said, his voice beginning to rise above its usually flat monotone. "She could be in pain right now!"

Ahsoka faced up to him. "I would know if she was in pain. Even this far away, we have a faint connection through the Force. We'll just have to wait a week until we can instill a memory wipe over them again."

"A week? She can't last a whole week in that place!"

"Remember that she is a Jedi Master." Ahsoka said calmly. "She knows what she's doing… most of the time."

"Fine." He growled. "But if she dies, you have blood on your hands." With that, he turned and stormed out of the hangar.

Oola looked startled by the outburst. "What was that about?"

"Let's just say… the girl he loves very much is missing, and we can't do anything about it right now." Aayla said quietly so that Boba wouldn't overhear.

"Oh…" Oola said, staring at his retreating figure.

* * *

Kura awoke to a gentle nudge.

"It's time to get up." Lyn Me's voice came.

So it hadn't been a dream. Kura sat up, stiff and cold from the rock floor. The room was illuminated with a somewhat bright light that was the dawn.

Lyn handed her a piece of bread and a small cup of water. "Take this. You're going to need it."

As Kura was eating, Lyn brought a bundle of clothes over. She looked up. "What's that?"

Lyn handed her the bundle. "This is the new outfit you've been assigned to."

Kura looked it over. "Where's the rest of it?"

"That's it."

Kura shook her head. "Nope. This is not happening."

"Look, I know it's humiliating." Lyn said. "But best be humiliated than dead."

"Well, can't I just wear this? It's bad enough."

Lyn shook her head. "Sorry."

Kura growled in frustration as she stood. _I am going to kick Ahsoka's lazy butt if she doesn't get here within the next day!_

* * *

Five minutes later, Kura had changed into the slave outfit, which revealed just about everything except what was absolutely necessary. It consisted of a blue strip of cloth across her chest, and a band about her waist with veils in the front and back.

"I hate this!" she hissed.

"I know." Lyn murmured. "We all do. But fortunately, I think they have you in the kitchen, so you won't be exposed."

The cell door opened, and the Gamorrean that had unlocked it grunted, signaling for the dancers to file out.

Kura sighed as they shuffled out. _Please get here soon._

* * *

Sometime later, after he had calmed down considerably, Boba walked into Kura's room. He observed the room, which was in its usual disorganized array.

Her bed was messy, random papers laying here and there. Her Jedi robe hung upon a hook on the closet door. Other papers lay stacked everywhere. On her desk lay her two lightsabers. Most likely Kit had left there for when she came back. If she came back.

Boba picked up Kura's red scarf which had been lying on her bed, and stared at it. He didn't understand how someone as small and innocent as her could survive a week with the villainous gangs that roamed that place.

He rubbed his forehead. He had never been this worried over somebody before. He desperately hoped that she did not have to suffer the cruelties of that place, but if he knew her, she would say something wrong.

* * *

Kura was led off to the kitchen with a couple of the other twi'leks. She looked around the room, which seemed like a normal kitchen aside from the barred grate that let in the light. "What do I do?"

"You can wash the dishes." A pink twi'lek said, pointing to the sink, where dishes were stacked.

"Seems easy enough."

Easier said than done. As soon as she was done with one stack of plates, another seemed to appear. And, scraping the gunk from the dishes was not an easy task either.

Around the afternoon time, Kura was actually somewhat glad for her current lack of proper clothing. The kitchen was actually quite hot.

Around this time, the pale pink twi'lek that seemed to be Jabba's cohort entered the kitchen.

"So, you're the new little slave." He hissed to Kura.

Kura crossed her arms in a gesture of defiance, but in such a way that covered her chest, continuing to glare at him.

"Hm. Silent." He said, looking her up and down. "Jabba might consider making you his personal slave." He reached out, touching her cheek.

Kura closed her eyes, shivering at his cold touch. One thing she knew in that moment was that she could not stand this guy. She chomped down upon his finger.

He roared in pain, ripping away. With his good hand, he slapped her across the face, leaving deep scratch marks on her face.

Kura put her hand to her face. When she pulled away, her hand had blood on it.

As soon as the pink twi'lek left the kitchen, the others hurried over.

"Oh, you shouldn't have done that." One said. "Don't worry. We only have half an hour to go until our shift ends. Then we can get you cleaned up."

* * *

"What…?" Lyn Me gaped as they were put back into the cell.

"Apparently Kura doesn't know the dangers of Bib Fortuna." One of the other kitchen staff said.

"Oh." Lyn me grabbed a piece of rag and dipped it into the small amount of water they had and began washing the cuts. "You do not want to get on Bib's bad side."

"I think I figured that out." Kura said.

"Kura, can you please continue the story you began last night?" one said.

Other voices called out in compliance.

"Come now girls, she's hurt!" Lyn reprimanded them.

"No, no, no." Kura said. "I can still continue." She sat down, pressing the cloth to her injured cheek as she continued.


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning, Kura awoke to her cheek hurting more than ever. It had stopped bleeding at least, but it still throbbed.

She actually smiled, remembering how disappointed the twi'leks had been as she ended with another cliffhanger last night. At least she had given them something to look forward to each night in this miserable existence.

Though, she was not anticipating working in the kitchens. She hoped that the disgusting pink twi'lek would stay away from her. She did not need any other injuries.

As they the Gamorrean guards herded them out, Lyn Me whispered in her ear: "I think they have you in the throne room today."

Kura gasped. "What? No! I am NOT going out in front of all those vile, disgusting idiots dressed in this! The bounty hunter outfit was bad enough!"

"I know it's appalling, but we have no choice." Lyn said.

Kura snorted in disgust as they entered the foul room. Growls of appreciation from the crowd greeted them as they walked in.

"Well, if it isn't the little devil that bit my finger yesterday?" a voice hissed.

Kura turned to face Bib Fortuna. "I still can't get your foul taste out of my mouth. If you come near me, I will bite it clean off."

"Such a shame I had to mar that pretty face." Bib said. "But now, I don't feel so bad about it."

Kura opened her mouth to retort, but Lyn Me grabbed her and dragged her off before she could respond.

"Do not get on his nerves." Lyn whispered as they hurried away. "By the way, see that?" She pointed to a grate on the floor in front of the throne where Jabba sat.

"I see it."

"Stay away from there. That's where his Rancor lives. We've lost many friends that way."

It angered Kura that these innocent girls were forced to work long hours in humiliation with barely any food or drink, living constantly under the fear of being eaten by Jabba's horrible pet. Not to mention that they were hurt if they did not comply with the scum's wishes.

"I am going to get you all out of here." She muttered.

As they walked backstage, a realization settled over Kura. What if Ahsoka and Boba came back to get her, and they saw her in this outfit? She figured she would die of embarrassment. It was bad enough that these vile slime saw her in this, but her friends? Perish the thought.

Lyn led her to the backstage where the dancers convened before they started their number.

"I don't have to dance, do I?" Kura asked. "Because I don't know how."

"No, you just sit here. And when we come from backstage, you can give us some water."

"Okay."

"And please, do not say anything stupid. You don't need to die as well."

"Got it." Then Lyn left her as she walked out onto the stage with the other dancers.

Kura took this as an opportunity to let her mind drift back to her friends on Cholganna. She hoped that at least the girl they had come for had made it out okay. She was far too young to bear the hardships in this life of slavery. Aayla would be happy that she now had one of her own there. Also, Aayla had Kit. They had been together for a long time, through thick and thin. As for Ahsoka, she had been friends with her for a long time, ever since she came to the Order, in fact. The togruta had once stated that she used to have a crush on a certain clone commander, but only before the near destruction of the Jedi. He had disappeared after that. Overall, she was Kura's best friend.

And then there was Boba. He was hard to understand. At times, he could be rough, and at other times, he seemed to drop everything else for her. She didn't understand at all. She hoped that he hadn't become mad at her for getting captured after he had told her to be careful.

_I'm going to kick his lazy butt to if they don't get here soon!_ She thought furiously. _Honestly, how long does it take to rescue me?_

"Need some water."

"Huh?" Kura looked up, having been jerked from her deep thoughts.

"We need some water." Lyn Me and the other girls stood there, panting from their dance number.

"Oh!" Kura reached over and grabbed the water bucket, handing it to the girls.

"Thanks." Lyn Me said.

The same routine carried on throughout the day: the twi'leks dancing for twenty minutes, then coming back for a five minute break before going back out on stage again. By the end of the day, all the dancers looked exhausted.

Kura had been kept busy too. She had been hauling heavy buckets of water back and forth for the dancers, and trying to get through the oppressive crowd of bounty hunters was hard enough without buckets. Her arms felt strained, and her stomach rumbled violently. None of them had been fed all day.

They were all happy when the time for them to rest came.

As usual, the twi'leks begged for the next section of the story that Kura told.

"Okay." Kura settled down. "So, the girl who had been taken had friends, and they were going to go out and look for her…"


	8. Chapter 8

**Question: Do you think I'm doing a good job keep Boba in character with the new setting?**

* * *

Oola had been weakened greatly by her ordeals at Jabba's palace. Over the course of  
two days, she had slowly regained her strength.

Now, Aayla led her out into the jungle on a walk to strengthen her legs.

"This place is much more humid than Ryloth." Oola said, staring around at the surrounding jungle.

"Is that where you're from?" Aayla asked.

Oola nodded vigorously. "Mm-hmm. I didn't have any parents. I just lived with some friends."

"How did you end up in Jabba's palace?"

Oola's face darkened. "One day, our village was raided by slavers. They took me and a couple of others. Then, I ended up in that horrible place. It's too bad that you couldn't get all the others out of there. They are in worse condition than I was."

"I once was locked up to, but fortunately I was only in there for several hours."

"I was in there for… two weeks, I think."

Aayla blinked, quite surprised at this information. "Well, that explains why you were so weak! You're just a child in the first place!"

"…but then, you and your friends came and got me, because I'm Force sensitive…" Oola had been given the whole Force/Jedi explanation previously. "Where is that blonde haired girl that walked in with Ahsoka? I haven't seen her around at all."

"Well…" Aayla hesitated. "She was the one that got captured."

"Oh no!" Oola gasped. "Why haven't you gone to get her?"

"Well, living as Jedi now is no easy job. Going out to retrieve people like you is a huge risk, for our enemies could find us. So, if we have to go back to a place more than once, we will instill a Jedi mind wipe, but unfortunately, that takes a week to do."

"Is that what Ahsoka and that man were arguing about?"

"Yeah."

"He scares me."

"He scares all the kids without meaning to. I guess he's just like that. But, it's best to avoid him at this time until we get Kura back."

"He really likes her, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, and that's why he so upset-" Aayla stopped as a hiss echoed ominously through the trees.

"What was that?" Oola squawked, grabbing on to Aayla's arm.

Aayla drew forth her lightsaber. "I'm not sure…" She looked around the forest, watching and listening. Silence greeted them.

Suddenly, an arboreal octopus swung through the trees by its tentacles, flopping down in front of the two twi'leks.

It screeched. Oola screamed.

It was a rather big specimen, a head taller than Aayla, with purple-grey coloring and eight long tentacles.

Aayla ignited her saber, pulling Oola behind her protectively.

The octopus screeched and snapped its sharp, lethal beak, and started scooting toward its prey on its tentacles.

Aayla swung at a protruding tentacle with her saber, but much to her shock and surprise, the arboreal creature reached out and grabbed the weapon from her hands.

The octopus slung it away into the bushes, and started scooting toward the unarmed Jedi again.

Aayla reached out with the Force, picking the predator up and slamming it into a nearby tree. It slid down to the ground, and was still, but only for a second.

Then it rose up and lashed out with one slimy appendage, grabbing Aayla by the wrist and dragging her toward itself.

Oola gasped, only able to watch helplessly as the creature wrapped its tentacles around the older twi'leks neck.

"Aayla!" she screamed.

"Get… lightsaber…." Aayla barely choked out. "Now!"

Oola ran into the trees, not having the slightest idea of where to look. She scrabbled around in the leaves and dirt, searching desperately for the weapon

Her hand happened upon it. She held it up. "Got it!"

A long tentacle reached out and took hold of it, lifting it into the air, taking Oola with it.

The little twi'lek screamed as the octopus swung her around wildly, trying to maintain hold of the weapon.

Then, the octopus slung her off, sending her and the lightsaber flying through the air. She hit the ground with jaw rattling impact. She groaned, pain pulsing through her.

"Oola…" she heard Aayla gasp as the predator's grip tightened around her neck.

She rolled over, searching the ground for where the weapon was, finding it in the dirt and leaves. She picked it up, searching for the ignite button as quickly as she possibly could.

She found it and pressed it, not realizing she was holding it upside down. The blade came out, almost spearing her through. She ran toward the octopus, holding the lightsaber dagger style. A tentacle swung toward her, and she lashed out randomly, slicing the end clean off.

The octopus shrieked in pain, recoiling from her.

Oola hesitated as she raised the saber to plunge it into the body of the creature.

"Do it…" Aayla choked, on the verge of passing out.

Encouraged, Oola raised the saber and plunged it deep into the octopus's body. It shrieked as Oola hauled on the handle and pulled it out, striking again.

The octopus went limp, releasing Aayla from its grasp. Oola ran to where she lay on the ground.

"Aayla! Are you okay?"

"Get… help." Aayla grated out hoarsely as lay in a weak bundle on the ground . "Quickly…"

"Okay!" Oola took off as fast as she could through the trees back toward the Jedi base. Her right leg hurt. She must have landed on it funny when the octopus threw her.

The base appeared through the trees. She ran up to the door and mashed on the button, running inside, waving her arms.

"Help! Aayla got hurt real bad!" She rounded the corner, slamming into Boba Fett. She took a dazed step back. He stared down at her with his usual impassive scowl.

"Please help!" Oola gasped. "Something attacked us! Aayla got hurt really bad!"

"Fisto!" Boba yelled.

"Yeah?" came the faint response.

"The kid says something happened to Secura… I think."

* * *

They found Aayla where she had been left. Kit inspected her swiftly.

"Is she okay?" Oola asked fearfully.

"Looks like her throat has been damaged." Kit said as he scooped the twi'leks form into his arms. "But nothing fatal. It'll be easier to determine once a medical droid gets a look at her."

Boba looked down at the slain carcass of the predator. "Arboreal octopus." He grunted. "Known for strangling its victims."

"Oh." Oola said. She picked up Aayla's lightsaber. "I'm glad I managed to kill it, then."

Kit blinked. "You did this?"

Oola nodded. "I think so…"

"Let's get out of here. There might be more predators close by."


	9. Chapter 9

Kura was starting to get scared.

It was five days since she had landed in this awful place, and her friends still had not yet come to retrieve her.

_Maybe something happened to them._ She thought fearfully as she sat within the confines of the cell she shared with the other dancers. _Maybe the Tuskens got them, or the Jawas, or the Sarlaac… I hope I see them again._

Lyn Me came over to where she sat against the wall_._ "You okay?"

Kura nodded. "Yeah. I'm just worried about my friends. Usually, it doesn't take this long for them to come and get me out of a jam like this, but it's been five days now. I'm worried that something might have happened to them."

"You never know what could happen on Tatooine." Lyn said. "How is your cheek doing?"

Kura felt the scratches on her face, which still throbbed with pain. "I think it's become infected. It hurts bad."

Lyn grimaced at the sight of the red marks. "That wouldn't be uncommon in an environment like this. Bib Fortuna can be cruel. He doesn't care what happens to us."

"I need to get out of here." Kura said. "There's a chance my friends won't be coming back, so I need to think of a way to escape here and take you all with me."

"Even if you found a way out, you couldn't take us all. There are too many of us."

"Look at you! All of you are mistreated! Every one of you deserves to be far away from here, back at home with your families and friends."

Lyn started nodding. "You know what? You are absolutely right! A few have tried to escape before, and have sadly met terrible fates, but those were all at different times. However, it might turn out different if all of us are trying at the same time."

"Yeah! But the only issue is, when we're not locked up in here, we're kept under constant watch. How are we going to pull anything?"

"Well…" Lyn thought for a moment. "They usually pay no mind to a slave leaving occasionally."

"Okay. That's good. What about the bounty hunters. One of us could dress up as one of them and go undercover."

"Where are we gonna get a bounty hunter outfit?"

"Maybe one of you could get a bounty hunter out of the room, and then we could jump on him and take his outfit, then one of us could wear it."

"That sounds easy enough."

"Is there a particular hunter you don't like?"

Lyn clapped her hands together. "Yes! I cannot stand that guy!"

"Who?" Kura asked.

Lyn whispered the hunter's name into Kura's ear.

Kura nodded. "We will start assembling our plans."

* * *

Aayla had been rushed to the Jedi base, and had been transported to the Infirmary at once. Now, she lay, still unconscious, on the bed.

The medical droid had inspected her. She had damaged vocal chords, and the bruises were evident on her neck, but she would live.

Oola and Kit watched her. Oola still clutched her lightsaber in her hands as she watched the older twi'lek anxiously. The medical droid had patched her up pretty easily. She had some bruises, and she had twisted some muscles in her leg, though not badly.

As for Boba, he had cared that Aayla was hurt, but he had left, for he was too wrapped up in his own thoughts.

Kit watched silently. He had carried her all the way back to the base, and his worry was evident.

They both stepped forward as Aayla shifted. Her eyes opened, and she looked around.

"Kit?" she asked, her voice hoarse and grating from the wounds she had sustained.

"I'm here." The nautolan said.

"Who… slew the monster?" she asked.

"I did." Oola said quietly.

A weak smile appeared on Aayla's face. "You did?"

"I'm so sorry!" she burst out. "I could have been faster, but I couldn't find the saber, and I hesitated, and now you're hurt!"

"Oh, don't worry about it." Aayla said. "It's your first time battling; of course you were slower. You did well."

Oola blinked, quite surprised by this. "Really?"

"Really."

Oola held forth her lightsaber. "Here's your lightsaber."

Aayla took it. "Thank you." She looked up at Kit. "I have no doubt in my mind that Oola here is ready to become a Padawan."

* * *

**Can any of you figure out who the bounty hunter is before I write it in the next chapter?**


	10. Chapter 10

**Neither of you are right. xD Read on and find out. Btw, we have a new follower!**

* * *

The twi'leks and the one human had assembled their plan. All of them were more than eager to participate, as they all hated the place.

Kura's legs wobbled slightly as she walked out with the other slaves. Over the days, she had grown weak from the hard work and lack of food and water, and the infection that had set in her cheek wasn't helping. The twi'leks had more endurance than her, so they were better off than she was, but she had to go through with the plan they had constructed, if it meant freeing all of them possibly.

As they entered the room, they scanned the crowd for their target. He was slightly shorter than all the rest, so he would be harder to spot.

"There." Lyn whispered, pointing at a masked figure across the room.

Kura blinked. He was only as tall as her. Just as well. That meant fitting into his costume wouldn't be as hard.

"Not now." Lyn said as they carried on.

Throughout the morning, or what Kura thought was the morning, she watched the active room. About every hour, one twi'lek slipped out of the room, obviously unnoticed in all the activity.

After another hour, Kura slipped from backstage and started toward the exit, but only to be faced by Bib Fortuna.

"What do you want?" she said, knowing that she was due to sneak away right that minute.

"Jabba wants you." He grabbed her by the arm. "Come on." He hauled her through the crowd to the throne of the Hutt.

Kura looked over the Hutt in disgust. Behind him, little Jawas fanned him, no doubt forced into slavery as well.

"She will be my personal slave." Jabba huffed, looking her over.

Kura put a hand to her chest, appalled and disgusted, not to mention it would mess up their plan.

Bib brought a metal collar with a chain attached to it. Kura closed her eyes as she felt the cold metal lock around her throat. Could things get any worse?

In response to that, Jabba jerked on the chain connected to the collar, nearly choking her as he pulled her over to the throne.

Kura climbed up onto the platform, taking a seat at the edge as far away from the Hutt as she could possibly get. Nothing could be worse than this. She eyed the little monkey lizard sitting behind Jabba.

"What are you looking at?" She hissed.

The monkey lizard moved behind Jabba, away from her.

Kura turned back to the front, noticing that Lyn Me was eyeing her. Kura directed her eyes toward the door, mouthing the word "Go."

Lyn gave a small nod as she continued on with her dance number.

At the end of the performance, the twi'leks disappeared backstage. Kura watched as Lyn slipped out, making her way toward the target.

"Looks like she has her eye on Boushh." She heard Bib Fortuna murmur. Kura rolled her eyes.

Lyn walked up to Boushh and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey big boy." She said. "What say you and I get out of here?"

Boushh gave a slow nod, and Lyn Me led him out.

Kura watched as she led him out. Maybe the plan would go through after all.

* * *

Three twi'lek slaves hid behind a dark corner in the corridors of the palace. Kura hadn't come out yet, which confused them, but they froze as they heard somebody approaching.

One of them peeked around the corner, seeing Lyn lead the bounty hunter down the hall.

"Wait for it…" she whispered. "Wait for it…"

The pair drew closer.

"NOW!"

The three leapt upon the bounty hunter, pummeling him as hard as they could. Lyn joined in. Boushh fell to the ground, knocked unconscious by the attack.

"Get him into the cell." Lyn whispered. "Quick! Before somebody comes!"

The four dragged the limp body into an open cell, closing the door.

"Okay." Lyn said quietly. "There's been a minor setback. Apparently, Jabba thinks that Kura should be his personal slave."

"Poor girl." One of the other dancers muttered.

"…so she won't be able to get into this costume." Lyn continued. "However, one of you might be able to fit into it." She scanned them. "Alilia." She gestured to a red twi'lek."

"Me?" she pointed to herself.

"Yeah. You're pretty short, right?"

"I guess so…"

"You think you could fit into this?" she pointed to the unconscious bounty hunter at their feet.

"Probably."

"Good. Let's get this thing off of him."

As they were removing the garb, Lyn muttered: "I'm glad Kura thought of this. I've always wanted to punch him in the face."

Fortunately, Boushh was wearing some underclothes as they rid him of his armor.

"Okay, put this on." Lyn said, handing the stuff to Alilia.

"Alright." She started climbing into the suit, which was equipped with all sorts of dangerous weapons, such as thermal detonators.

It took them a while to get the outfit on, but Alilia looked exactly like Boushh by the time they were done.

The dancers stepped out of the cell, shutting the door. Lyn jammed a big piece of rock underneath the door, making it almost impossible to open.

Now, they could set the next part of their plan into motion.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Sorry I couldn't update sooner! I didn't have time to write a new chapter yesterday!**

* * *

The same day, Oola stood before the Jedi council holograms with Aayla Secura.

"So, you think the girl is ready to become to a Padawan?" master Obi-Wan Kenobi asked.

Aayla nodded. "It is apparent." Her voice was still very hoarse from her encounter with the arboreal octopus. "She slew the creature singlehandedly."

Oola simply waited in silence.

"I am convinced." Obi-Wan said. "Oola will become your Jedi Padawan."

A grin broke out on Oola's face.

"We wish you luck on your ventures, Oola." Plo Koon hissed.

"Thank you." Oola said, still smiling.

"And Aayla," Obi-Wan said. "Anything to report on Kura's status?"

Aayla shook her head. "No. Tomorrow is the full week. At that point, we will be able to place the memory wipe over the place and get her out of there."

"Very well. May the Force be with you."

The holograms of the Jedi flickered and disappeared.

As they exited the room, Ahsoka stood waiting for them.

She raised an eyebrow. "Padawan?"

Aayla nodded. "Padawan."

Ahsoka clapped. "Yes! It's not often we get new blood here on Cholganna, and by the looks of it, you'll be a very good Jedi."

"How long does it take?"

"Hmm… Give or take five years."

Oola gaped. "Five years?"

"Yeah, I know it seems like a long time…" Ahsoka leaned down. "But it goes fast!"

* * *

Later that day, Aayla presented her with a lightsaber.

"For me?" Oola asked.

Aayla nodded. "All yours. We keep extras because the caves where the lightsaber crystals are located are now hard to access.

Oola took the weapon, regarding it with awe. "Wow…"

"You can unsheathe it if you want. Just make sure you're pointing it the right way, and not towards me either."

Oola hit the ignition button. The blade burst out in a yellow-green flash. Now it glowed before her, vibrating with a deadly hum.

"Hey, it matches your skin color." Aayla commented.

Oola giggled.

"What say we get some training in before dinner?"

"Sure!" Oola sheathed the saber and clipped it onto her belt as she followed Aayla out of the room.

* * *

Boba sat upon his bed in his quarters. He had been in torture over the past week about leaving Kura in that place. Fortunately, tomorrow was the day they went back to get her. He prayed that whatever she had undergone wasn't horrible.

Did she miss him as much as he missed her? He didn't know, but he had been worried sick over her missing.

The kid that she had gotten captured trying to save… she reminded him of Kura in a way. The same worry over her friends, the same childlike innocence. She impressed him, for she had killed the arboreal octopus singlehandedly, the same way that Kura had impressed him when he had first met her.

He stared down at the two lightsabers in his hand. He was taking them with him tomorrow. Kura would need them.

He stared out his window at the trees swaying gently in the breeze. Whatever the case, he was going to get her back.

* * *

Aayla led Oola out into the forest, though not that far away from the base.

"No monsters are going to come after us, are they?" Oola asked.

Aayla shook her head. "I doubt it." As she said that, she touched the bruises on her throat.

"Okay…" Oola said a bit hesitantly. "What do I do now?"

Aayla took out a strip of black cloth. "Unsheathe your lightsaber."

Oola took out her weapon and ignited it. Aayla stepped up behind her and tied the black cloth around her eyes, blindfolding her.

"What's this for?" Oola asked, looking around in confusion.

"Center your feelings." Aayla murmured. "Focus on the Force. Calm your mind. Now, just stand there."

Oola relaxed and stood, centering her thoughts on the Force.

Aayla walked over to a large outcrop of rock and sat down on it. She watched Oola stand there for a minute or two, and then reached down and picked up some fairly large pebbles. She tossed them toward the focusing Padawan.

Oola whirled, knocking the pebbles away with three swift strokes of her lightsaber.

"Woah!" she cried. "How did I just do that?"

"When you focus on the Force, you can sense things come upon you even when you can't see them. You saw the rocks before they hit you, and you reacted by knocking them away."

"Cool!" Oola said.

"Now, focus again."

"Okay." Oola calmed herself.

Aayla picked up a stick and threw it javelin style at Oola's unprotected back.

The Padawan spun and sliced the stick in two.

"Enough of that." Aayla undid the blindfold from around her Padawans face. "Now, let's teach you how to use the Force."

She took her over to a pile of brush and rocks. She curled her hand, lifting the sticks and stones up, moving them to a different location across the clearing.

"I wanna learn how to do that!" Oola breathed.

"That's exactly what I'm going to show you." Aayla said. "Now, focus on an object, anything you see out here, and see if you can fit it."

"Okay." Oola focused on a tiny pebble at her feet. She stared at it, curling her hand slowly upward.

Gradually, very slowly and shakily, the pebble drifted into the air.

Oola released a gasp of breath and the pebble fell back to the ground. It had made it two inches off the ground.

"Very good!" Aayla praised her. "For a first try, that is very considerable."

Before she could continue, a voice echoed through the trees: "Yo! Whoever's out there, it's time for dinner!"

"I guess that's all we can do today." Aayla said. "Come on. Let's eat."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Nick: Well, I never mentioned this, even though I probably should have, but after the near destruction of the Jedi, the training time was shortened due to the fact that more Jedi were needed after that. And, not as many Force sensitive children were found.**

* * *

Alilia, dressed as Boushh, took Lyn Me by the arm, making it look as if the bounty hunter was leading her away.

"You guys go back to the room, one at a time." Lyn said. "Let's go, Alilia."

The disguised twi'lek led the slave down the hall, past the throne room toward the entrance.

A Gamorrean guard appeared to stop them, but Alilia simply pointed to the door. The guard waddled over to the door and opened it. Boushh was known to be deadly.

Alilia and Lyn walked into the midafternoon sunlight. Lyn almost collapsed when they stepped out. She hadn't breathed fresh air in so long.

"You alright?" Alilia asked as the door shut behind them.

"Yeah…" Lyn said. "I think so. I just haven't been outside in so long…"

"Understandable." Alilia had only been in there for a month, which wasn't even half the time Lyn Me had suffered.

"Woo, I'll be okay." Lyn said. "Now, let's continue with the next part."

The two twi'leks walked around the base of the building, looking over the cell grates that were close to the ground. They had tied a strip of cloth around on of the bars of the grate so they would be able to find it from the outside.

Lyn pointed. "There!"

They stood before the grate that was their holding cell.

Alilia bent down and tugged on the grate. They had worked through the night to loosen the stones around it, which was fairly easy considering the dampness. The bars came lose with only a few tugs.

"Okay." Alilia said. "Go into town and get some food and better clothes, then just wait for us. We'll be able to get more out shortly."

Lyn nodded. "Got it." She jogged off in the sand toward the bustling city.

Alilia slid through the hole in the wall where the bars had previously been and dropped into the twi'leks empty cell. Now that she had gotten a taste of the fresh air, inside smelled musty and stale all over again.

The door was open. The Gamorrean guards never bothered to close it when nobody was around. She removed Boushh's armor and stashed it under a blanket. Then, she strode out and back to the throne room.

Nobody noticed her. Why would they? She was just a slave.

When she reached the backstage, a twi'lek named Cera whispered in her ear: "Did Lyn make it out?"

Alilia nodded. "Yes, without a hitch!"

"Yes!" Cera fistpumped.

"What about Kura?" Alilia asked. "Where is she at?"

"Still tied up with Jabba." Cera growled. "And he has to pick the weakest one of the group. I can tell the lack of food and water is taking its toll on her. She should have more than what she's getting. She's just a human. And I can tell she's stressed out, too. Whoever she is, wherever she came from, she's worried."

"It is funny that she hasn't told us what she does. She's not a bounty hunter, but yet she is associated with Boba Fett. Quite an odd setup indeed."

* * *

Kura had sat there for she didn't know how many hours. Visitors had come and gone. Nothing really interesting had occurred. The cold weight of the collar around her neck weighed her down. She hoped that the plan had gone off right, even though they were without her.

She looked up at the stage and saw Alilia dancing. She was one of the dancers that had left a few hours ago. Something must have happened if she was back here now.

Somebody tapped her on the leg. She looked down.

A Jawa stood there, holding a piece of bread out to her.

"Thank you!" Kura gasped. "But… don't you need this?"

The Jawa shook its head and hurried off.

Kura ate the piece of bread gratefully. She hadn't had anything all day, and she was starving. It eased the ache in her stomach considerably.

Finally, the time came for the dancers to leave.

Bib Fortuna came over and unsnapped the collar from around her neck. "Go with them." He growled.

Kura slid off the platform, glad to be away from Jabba and his evil monkey.

She met the other dancers at the door of the room as they filed out.

"Hey." Alilia said, coming up next to her. "They let you go?"

Kura nodded. "Yeah. I guess. I'm just glad to be away from that blob of fat and his evil little monkey friend."

"Salacious Crumb is that little devils name. We call him Crumby."

"Did the plan go as we thought?"

"Shh. Wait till we get back to the cell." Alilia silenced, nodding slightly in the direction of the Gamorrean guards.

As soon as they made it back to the cell and slammed the door shut, Alilia said: "She made it out! We nabbed the bounty hunter and locked him in a cell, then I donned his outfit and led her outside, fooling those guards that I was a bounty hunter taking a slave!"

"That's great! If we can get one slave out a day, it'll be so gradual that no one will notice. And, the last ones will be able to get out through the window. Lyn's getting a ship, right?"

Alilia nodded. "Yeah. I sent her into town to get some food and better clothes. Fortunately, the bounty hunter had a lot of credits on him."

"Where are the clothes at?"

Alilia lifted up the blanket, revealing the hidden armor.

"I wish I was the one wearing that." Kura rolled her eyes. "But now I have to deal with the fat guy and his posse of two-faced freaks. However, the Jawas seem pretty nice."

"Oh yeah! Those little guys are always trying to help us in any way they can. They get fed more than we do, so they leave a little food leftover for us sometimes. We need it, and they don't like this place as much as we do. I hope we can take them with us when we leave."

"I'll see what we can do."

"Tell us the next part of the story please Kura!" Cera pleaded.

"Alright. So, the togruta and the nautolan stepped inside the evil lord's palace. The place was dark and smelly…"


	13. Chapter 13

The next morning, Ahsoka walked out of the hologram room, announcing:" It has officially been a week since Kura was taken captive at Jabba's palace and we have successfully placed the memory wipe over that place, so they won't remember me."

"Does that mean we can go get her now?" Boba asked.

"It does."

"Finally." He turned and walked off down the hall.

Aayla turned to her Padawan. "Since you were just made a Padawan yesterday, I'm not going to take you on this mission. Can you stay with Master Luminara until we get back?"

Oola nodded. "Yeah."

"We'll be back probably this evening if everything goes well."

* * *

Ahsoka had changed her outfit to that of a bounty hunter again, and had swung her lekku over her shoulder.

Boba had changed into his Mandalorian armor. He had packed a couple of extra things, such as Kura's two lightsabers, which he had stowed in his pocket.

Kit and Aayla were going along to, but they were to remain onboard the ship unless something went wrong.

Per the usual, Boba boarded his personal ship, and the Jedi boarded their own.

The trip seemed to pass quickly for Boba. His thoughts revolved around Kura. Would she even be alive when they got there? He didn't know. Soon enough, the tan surface of Tatooine appeared in the distance.

The two ships landed on the outskirts of the town, and Boba and Ahsoka stepped out into the heat. As they strode into town, most people avoided them, probably because of the reputation of Boba Fett.

In the middle of the city, Boba started as somebody tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to face a gray twi'lek in travelers clothes.

"Are you looking for Kura Sai?" she asked.

Ahsoka frowned. "How did you know that?"

"She said that Boba Fett would eventually come looking for her."

"Where is she?" Boba growled.

"She's still locked up with the other slaves in Jabba's palace. We formulated a plan for all of us to escape, but I'm the only one who's gotten out so far."

_The slaves?!_ Boba thought.

"Come on." Ahsoka said. "You can tell us more on the way."

As they trotted down the busy street toward the palace, Lyn Me told them all she could.

"How is her health?" Boba asked.

"She's getting weaker, I can tell. We're only being fed enough to sustain a twi'lek, not a human, so she can't hold out much longer. She has some scratches on her cheek that have gotten infected too."

By this time, they had reached the vicinity of the place.

"You stay out here." Ahsoka said. "You don't need to go in there again."

"Got it." Lyn said. "I'll be waiting." She disappeared into the crowd.

Boba rapped on the metal surface of the palace, leaving an echoing sound behind.

The metal eye came out of its hatch, staring at them both.

"Boba Fett plus one." He said.

The eye retreated and the door rumbled open. They stepped inside the dark interior. The Gamorrean guards did nothing to stop them.

They walked down the dark hallway to where the throne room was. They happened to get there at the same time the dancers were leaving, practically bumping into Kura.

Kura's face registered shock, turning pale, and then red. The Gamorrean guard urged her on by her friends.

Boba heard Ahsoka's voice close to his ear. "Don't stare."

He turned away. At least she was alive, but he hadn't failed to notice the deep scratches on her cheek.

They stepped down into the throne room to face Jabba.

"Jabba." Boba said.

The Hutt looked over to the bounty hunter.

Boba pointed to the door. "What are you doing, making my associate work as a slave here?"

"_We thought you would care, since last week when she came in here, she claimed to be new, so we took her because we thought you wouldn't care about new blood_." The Hutt explained.

"Well, I want her back." Boba demanded. "NOW."

"_Very well._" Jabba sighed. "_You may go and get her_."

As the two left the room, Bib Fortuna whispered to Jabba: "Do you think we should go after them?"

"_No_." Jabba answered. "_The bounty hunter is too skilled. He could kill us all if he wanted to_."

* * *

Kura sat in a corner of the cell. She had never been so humiliated! She was glad that her friends had finally come, hopefully to get her out of here, but she was hardly wearing anything! At least they were here.

Alilia came over. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah… It's just that my friends are here, and now they've seen me in this…"

Alilia winced. "That must have been embarrassing."

"Yeah. Hopefully I'll be out of here soon."

"Well, I gotta put the armor on. I'm going to get Cera out of here today." She walked over to the blanket and started putting the armor on piece by piece.

* * *

Boba and Ahsoka walked down the dark corridors, filled with rows upon rows of cells.

"Where are the slave cells?" Ahsoka asked a Gamorrean guard.

The guard pointed to the left, handing her a key.

* * *

Alilia had her armor halfway on when they heard the sound of the door being unlocked.

The twi'leks gasped. They had not expected anyone to come in the cell at this time of day, and Alilia most certainly couldn't get her armor off on time.

Kura grabbed up a chunk of rock off the floor and crept toward the door. As soon as it opened, she leapt out; trying to bring the rock down the figures head, but a strong hand grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

She stood there on tip toes, shocked. A lightsaber was activated, showering the place in bright yellow light. She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light.

Boba Fett stood there, holding her by her wrist, and Ahsoka stood behind him, holding her yellow-green lightsaber.

The rock clattered to the floor. Boba released her and she took a step back, her face turning red again.

Now that Boba had good look at her, he was shocked. She had lost a pound or two, if that was possible. She was already skinny enough. Her cheek looked bad, and her face was pale.

"Who are these?" Ahsoka asked, sweeping her lightsaber over the crowd of twi'leks.

"These are the other dancers." Kura said.

"We want to escape too."Alilia said. The other twi'leks murmured in agreement.

"How are we going to get them all out of here?" Boba asked.

"Normally at this time people start falling asleep." Alilia said. "It wouldn't be that hard to get out of here. But, if I may ask, what is that?" she pointed at the lightsaber Ahsoka was holding.

"Eh, I'll explain later." Kura said. "But right now we need to go."

Boba put his hand on Kura's shoulder for support as they all left.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Narsilia: I had one planned for the next chapter anyway, but you're just giving me an excuse. xD**

* * *

Boba could tell that Kura was weak. She was pale, and her legs trembled, and she stumbled often.

As for what she was wearing, he was trying not to stare. He could tell she hated it. _She has a nice figure_. He thought.

Wait a second. What? If Kura ever found out he had thought that, she probably would never speak to him again. He hoped she couldn't read his mind. That was something the Jedi could do.

They snuck down the dark corridors, Ahsoka in the lead, checking around corners before they advanced. Boba was behind her, staying close to Kura. Behind them were the twi'leks, and a couple of Jawas who had joined them as they were leaving.

Every now and then, Ahsoka would have to take out her lightsaber to slay a Gamorrean guard who was around a corner. They always fell silently. So far, nothing had happened.

They silently paraded past the stairs that led down to the throne room. The interior of the room was silent. Everybody was asleep.

Kura almost jumped out of skin as a giant snore, probably from Jabba the Hutt, rang out from inside the room.

Boba put a hand on her shoulder as means to calm her.

Ahsoka crept up to the door that led outside. Nobody was around. She stretched forth a hand and made a lifting gesture upwards.

The door rasped open, squeaking rustily.

Kura winced at this sound, looking around nervously. The noises echoed ominously through the dark hallways. She hoped it didn't wake anybody up.

"Go!" Ahsoka whispered.

The twi'leks and the humans ran outside silently.

The outside was far cooler than it had been earlier, for night had fallen over the town, except that it was still busy.

Ahsoka walked outside, still holding the door up. Then, she lowered it slowly, setting it down with a small bump.

Murmuring broke out among the twi'leks. They hadn't been outside in so long, it seemed like new territory to them. The Jawas gave each other fist bumps and babbled to themselves in their unintelligible dialect.

Kura remained silent. She didn't know what to think.

"Come on." Ahsoka said in her normal voice. "We have to find Lyn Me!"

* * *

All was not well within the palace of Jabba the Hutt.

A Gamorrean guard that the Jedi had not come upon was patrolling his sector. As he passed by a cell door, he heard somebody banging on the other side of it.

The Gamorrean frowned. He did not remember anybody being locked up in there. But then again, Gamorreans weren't known for their remarkable memory.

He tugged on the door, but it did not budge. He scratched his head. That was odd. He looked down, and saw a rock jammed under the door. He pulled the rock out and opened the door.

He was faced with a bruised, very angry looking Boushh, who was missing his armor.

Boushh cursed in Ubese and stormed out of the room.

* * *

The door to the used to be twi'lek holding cell was kicked open. Bib Fortuna looked around the practically empty room. The ratty blankets lay on the floor in clumps, and Boushh's armor lay on the stone, scattered in pieces.

* * *

The escaped slaves were halfway through the city when Lyn Me stepped from the shadows of a dark alleyway.

"What's the plan?" Ahsoka asked.

"I have a ship." Lyn said. "We can fly all the twi'leks back to Ryloth."

"Good. And we're fine with the ships too. What about the Jawas?"

"They can go back to their homes in the desert. Right guys?"

The Jawas nodded vigorously.

Before the next words could exit their mouths, a yell rang out from down the street.

"SLAVES!"

"Uh oh!" Lyn cried. "They found out!"

"Run!" Ahsoka yelled.

The crowd of twi'leks and others took off down the street, away from the oncoming mob of Gamorrean guards and bounty hunters.

Ahsoka took out both her lightsabers, dropped back, and started blocking the oncoming shots of the bounty hunters, protecting the others.

Boba took hold of Kura's hand, urging her to run faster. She was practically pulled along by him, as she couldn't run very faster, due to her weakened strength.

It was just too much. From the mistreatment, to the lack of food and water, the infection, and now being forced to run away from her captors, who might catch her again… Kura fainted clean away.

Boba whirled around and grabbed her up in his arms as if she was nothing, then continuing to run away from their adversaries.

The ships were in sight through the crowd. They sped up.

The twi'leks thundered into the ship Lyn had gotten. Every one of them had made it. The Jawas scurried away into the desert, rapidly disappearing into the sand. Ahsoka ran into the Jedi starfighter, and Boba went up into the _Slave I_.

He dumped Kura into an empty chair and geared up the ship for takeoff.

* * *

Kit and Aayla started as Ahsoka ran into the control room shouting: "Go! Go now!"

"Got it." Kit turned to the control panel.

Ahsoka grabbed up the transmitter. "Boba, is Kura on board?"

"Copy that." His voice growled over.

"Is she okay? I saw her fall."

"She fainted. I think she's been through too much."

"You got the Jedi robe I gave you?"

"Yeah."

She switched frequencies as the ship left Tatooine. "Lyn, are you there?"

"Yeah." Came the twi'leks voice.

"Did every twi'lek make it out okay?"

"Yeah!" Lyn said triumphantly. A cheer rang out in the background.

Ahsoka smiled as she set the transmitter.

"I trust things went well?" Aayla asked.

"Everybody made it out fine, except for Kura. She passed out."

Aayla gasped. "Is she okay?"

"I think she'll be okay. She's just been through a lot. But don't worry! She's safe with Boba."

* * *

As soon as the Slave I broke through Tatooine's atmosphere, Boba scooped up Kura and placed her in his bed. He took the Jedi robe Ahsoka had given him out of his pack and placed it over her. Then, he took out both her lightsabers and laid them on the table next to the bed so that they would be ready for her when she awakened.

He stared down at her pale face, marred by the scratches. He touched her good cheek gently, and then left her to sleep.

* * *

**You may think it's over, but it's not!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Falcon and Nick: The answer is: Yes! And I can't tell if y'all want it or not. But, you've gone the whole story without fluff, so here's some!**

* * *

Kura awoke with a start. The last thing she remembered was tumbling to the ground, and then passing out. She was staring up at a ceiling that wasn't made of stone. That was a start.

She looked around. She recognized this room. She was aboard the _Slave I. _

Her cheek still hurt. No surprise there. She looked down, and saw that, much to her dismay, she was still in her slave garb. She grabbed up the robe that had been placed over her, recognizing it as her own, and put it on.

As she stood up to tie the clasps, she nearly fell over. Still lightheaded.

She sighed at the feeling of the robe on her. It felt good not being exposed anymore. She found her lightsabers on the table, and resorted to simply carry them, since she didn't have a belt.

She exited the bedroom and made her way to the control room, keeping one hand on the wall for support. The control room was empty. She looked around in confusion.

A pair of arms wrapped around her from behind. She stiffened, but relaxed again as an all too familiar voice rumbled in her ear: "It's only me."

"Boba!" Kura turned around and hugged him. He caught her up, nearly crushing her in his embrace.

"I missed you." She murmured into his shoulder.

"I did too." He plopped her into a chair and took a seat across from her. "Now," he said. "What is that?" he pointed to the scratches on her face.

"Oh. Apparently I didn't know how cruel Bib Fortuna could be…"

"Fortuna." Boba growled. He took out his tube of medicine and dabbed a little on his fingers. He put his hand on her good cheek, holding her still as he applied the medicine with his other hand.

Kura winced as he touched the deep cuts.

"I'm sorry." He murmured. "I know it hurts."

When he had finished, he capped the tube and cupped Kura's chin, kissing her.

Kura pulled away, leaning back against the chair. She could finally relax. Her cheek was already beginning to feel better.

"Here." Boba handed her a ration bar and a cup of water.

She took them eagerly. She hadn't had anything since the previous morning. "How long till we get back to Cholganna?"

"We still have a ways to go. You were only out for half an hour."

"Oh." Kura nommed on her ration bar in silence.

"We got a problem!" Ahsoka's voice suddenly came through the transmitter, nearly causing Kura to fall out of her seat.

"What is it?" Boba replied.

"The bounty hunters from Tatooine apparently followed the twi'leks and are now advancing on them! We need to go and help!"

"We're coming. How far away are you?"

"We're about halfway there. And if Kura wakes up before you get there, don't let her fight. She'll still be weak from her ordeals and we can't risk more strain."

Kura snatched the transmitter from Boba's hands. "Ahsoka! If you think I'm going to sit idly by while you fight a pack of bounty hunters, then you're mistaken! We've gotten all the twi'leks safely this far, and they are not about to go back into slavery again. I am fighting!"

There was a moment of silence. Obviously, Ahsoka had not expected Kura to be awake.

"Give me that." Boba grabbed the transmitter. "It seems there is no convincing her. We'll see what we can do."

"Got it."

Boba set the transmitter back down. "Kura." He said. "You can't fight. I know you're a Jedi, but you've been through too much to be battling right now."

Kura crossed her arms stubbornly. "I'm gonna help them in any way I can. I can help them by fighting. Besides, those bounty hunters aren't expecting a _slave_ to be a Jedi."

"But you're not a slave."

"Do they know that?"

Boba rolled his eyes. She was going to get herself killed one of these days with her stubbornness.

* * *

Panic had ensued aboard the twi'leks ship. They were being chased by many ships of the bounty hunters from Jabba's palace. Somehow up to this point, they had avoided all the things that had been thrown at them, but it was getting harder.

Lyn Me wrestled with the controls, trying to outrun the ships and the bullets being shot at them. The other twi'leks ran around in a panic, being thrown about as the ship pitched and turned.

Alilia had contacted the Jedi starfighter when the first ship had been sighted, telling them of their predicament, but they hadn't arrived yet.

They were only halfway to Ryloth, and they would be overtaken by the hunters if help didn't arrive soon.

Lyn was knocked away from the controls as another body slammed into her. The ship spiraled out of control, actually away from the bounty hunters.

Lyn's head collided with someone else's, dazing her as they were thrown about.

In passing, Cera grabbed the controls. She didn't know much about flying, but she knew enough to know where the acceleration button was. She mashed on it, sending the ship blasting forward. Lyn bonked into her.

"Give me the controls!"

Cera stepped to one side. "Aim for that planet down there!" She pointed to a planet far below them. "Maybe we could lose them if we go there!"

"Is it inhabitable?"

Cera read the coordinates off the screen. "Its name is Shimia. Coordinates are R-17."

Lyn nodded as she steered the ship toward the planet, which looked green and blue from above. "I've heard of it. It is inhabitable."

* * *

"There they are!" Aayla yelled, pointing.

"Which ship is it?" Kit asked, looking at all the bounty hunters ships.

"The one that's starting to go down towards that planet! It's out in front. They must be trying to get away by going into the planet."

Ahsoka picked up the transmitter. "Lyn. We have a visual on you. Are you okay for now?"

"Copy that." Cera's voice came back. "We're going to try and lose them by going into Shimia. But, we could use your help."

"Fire, Kit!" Aayla commanded.

* * *

Cera stared out the window as the ship plummeted toward Shimia. She saw the Jedi starfighter coming in, firing its blue bullets at the bounty hunters ships. There was an explosion as one bullet found its mark.

"They're here!" She said.

"Good." Lyn gritted. "But we still gotta get into this planet's atmosphere."


	16. Chapter 16

The _Slave I_ whirred through space toward the battle. Kura stood at the control panel, staring out into space, searching for the battle. Her lightsabers were held tightly. She wasn't taking chances.

"The twi'leks have plunged to Shimia!" Ahsoka's voice came through.

"Copy that." Boba responded.

The planet's green surface appeared, as did the ships on the tail of the twi'lek slaves.

"Don't expect me to leave you." Boba growled at Kura.

She rolled her eyes. "Of course. Why would you?"

The ship burst through the clouds of Shimia, and was faced with the ongoing battle between the Jedi starfighter and the bounty hunters.

The hunters were still in pursuit of the twi'lek's ship, but were getting agitated by the starfighter's firing.

Boba pressed a button on the control board and sent a rocket hissing from somewhere else on the ship. An explosion lit up the place as it found a target.

"Well that was easy." Kura said.

"It's not as easy as it looks."

_CLANG._

Kura jumped. "What was that?"

Footsteps thumped on the roof of the sip. Whoever it was, they had great balancing skills if they were able to stand on top of a moving ship.

Kura ignited both her lightsabers; the yellow one and the blue one. "I'll go see who it is."

"What? No! You can't do that!" Boba protested.

"I can!"

After a second, he consented. "Fine. But _be careful_. Am I understood?"

"Yeah…" Kura sighed in frustration as she walked down the hallway and looked up at the hatch that led to the roof. She jumped up and opened it.

She hauled herself on to the roof, fighting against the heavy wind as the ship flew through the canyons of Shimia. She looked around. The roof seemed deserted.

A low chuckle came from behind her.

She whirled, reigniting her lightsabers.

Across the roof stood a woman, probably about as tall as Boba. Her skin was white, and her head seemed bald, except for a long tail of brown hair in the back. She was wearing an orange suit and a hunter's vest.

"Well isn't this unexpected?" she chuckled. "A child with lightsabers. I was expecting Fett."

"Who are you?" Kura asked, keeping her eyes on the hunter.

"That's none of your business." The hunter growled. "Why don't you get out of my way."

Kura took a step forward, settling into a fighting stance. "You leave, or I'll make you."

"Fine. If that's the way you want to do it…" the woman reached for her belt. As she did so, Kura saw that she had unusually long fingers.

Much to her surprise, the woman pulled a lightsaber. She ignited it, and it glowed red.

Kura ran forward, clashing with her. They struck again and again at each other.

"Not bad." The hunter growled as they paused, the lightsabers crackling as they were pressed together.

Suddenly, the ship they were standing upon tilted upwards as it flew out of the canyon in pursuit of the bounty hunters.

Kura's adversary lost her balance at this, sliding down the roof. Her lightsaber rolled down as well, but she caught it just in time.

Kura flew at her in her moment of weakness, but the hunter reignited her lightsaber and caught her as their lightsabers met. Seizing an opportunity, the hunter kicked Kura's legs out from under her, causing her to hit the roof with a metallic bang.

Boba, down below, heard this noise. He couldn't take it anymore. Who was she battling?

He seized the transmitter. "Ahsoka! Somebody landed on our roof and Kura went up to battle whoever it was, but I can't see a thing! Can you get a view of it?"

* * *

Ahsoka put down the transmitter. "Kit! See if you can find the _Slave I_! Kura is trying to battle somebody!"

"She's doing what?"

* * *

Lyn and the other twi'leks had seen the arrival of the Slave I, but they had lost sight of it as they plunged into a rocky canyon. Some hunters still followed them, but a couple of them had been taken out by the Jedi.

Now, they swerved in between the rocks as means to avoid the hunter's fire. A rock exploded in rubble behind them. Miraculously, they had not been hit yet.

* * *

Kit had zeroed in upon the Slave I, and now they were hurtling towards it. Aayla narrowed her eyes as they closed in. She saw lightsabers clashing in sparks, but she couldn't identify who it was yet.

Ahsoka gasped. "Is that…?"

* * *

Boba picked up the transmitter as he heard Ahsoka's voice coming through. As the assailant's name was read, fear shot through him.

"Are you sure?" he said. "Is it really her?"

"There is no doubt about it. It is Aurra Sing."

Boba slammed the transmitter down. Aurra Sing was known for her ruthlessness, especially against Jedi such as Kura. He wanted to go up and help, but that would mean crashing the ship and possibly killing them all.

* * *

"You need to get me down there! I need to help her!" Ahsoka cried.

"What can you do?" Kit asked "We're aboard a ship in a high speed chase!"

"Get above them and open the hatch! I can jump down onto the roof."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Aayla asked.

"Please." Ahsoka scoffed. "I've jumped from far greater heights. Let's do this!"

* * *

Aurra Sing stalked up to Kura, who lay on her back. "Sorry honey, but you lost." She raised her saber for a stabbing kill, but before she could, Kura kicked out with her feet, shoving her backwards.

Kura Force jumped to her feet and flew at Sing, clashing with her again. "Not so weak now, huh?" she gritted out.

"Hm. You have the skills of a Jedi Master." Sing acknowledged. "Quite surprising. But, you're gonna have to better than that. I've been killing Jedi for years."

They both paused as a shadow fell over them. Above them, the Jedi starfighter sped along at the same speed as the Slave I. The hatch at the bottom opened, and Ahsoka Tano jumped out, landing with a bang upon the roof.

The hatch on the fighter above closed, and it sped off in pursuit of the twi'lek's ship.

Ahsoka stood to face the bounty hunter. "Sing." She growled. "I should have known."

"Hm." Aurra scoffed. "I thought you had died many years ago. You disappeared. But alas, maybe I was wrong.

Ahsoka drew her lightsabers. "Let's see how you do against two Jedi." They clashed with Sing.


	17. Chapter 17

**I love y'alls freakout at worried Boba. xD**

* * *

Somehow, Aurra Sing managed to hold off the two Jedi. She wasn't known as a Jedi hunter for nothing.

They clashed again and again, but Sing always blocked, even though she was up against four lightsabers.

They all stumbled as the ship they were standing upon swerved to avoid enemy fire. Ahsoka Force Pushed Sing away as she slammed into her.

Sing landed on her back, but swiftly rose to her feet as Kura ran at her, blocking her strike. She failed to notice Ahsoka coming up behind her as she struck at Kura.

"It's over Sing." Ahsoka said, holding her saber to the back of her head. "Now, drop your weapon."

Aurra lowered her lightsaber, sheathing it. She bent down, getting ready to place her weapon on the gground, but suddenly she reignited it, slashing Kura across the arm. The small Jedi yelled and fell back, dropping her own weapon.

Before Ahsoka could react, Aurra whirled and stomped on one of her lekku, which dragged unprotected on the ground. She yelled and took a step back. Togruta lekku were known for being very sensitive to the touch.

Aurra slashed at her with her saber, but despite the pain, she managed to block the strike.

* * *

"What is going on?" Aayla asked herself, peering out the window at the ongoing battle on top of the Slave I.

Kit watched as another bullet found its mark on another bounty hunters ship. "I'm not sure, but whatever it is, I'm sure they're taking care of it."

Aayla turned away from the window. "Have the twi'leks been hit?"

Kit shook his head. "Surprisingly, no. Whoever is flying must either be an excellent flyer, or they're just getting plain lucky."

* * *

It was luck indeed. Lyn had done her best to avoid the bullets, and it seemed that she had done a sufficient job. Now, the other twi'leks were no longer running around in a panic, but they still were scared. They all were.

Only three ships remained chasing them, for all the others had been taken out by the Slave I and the Jedi starfighter, but these appeared to be the toughest ones of the bunch. They stayed right on their tail no matter what Lyn tried.

* * *

Kura grasped for a purchase on the ship as she lay there, but the slick metal offered none. Her arm hurt like the blazes. She saw the battle going on before her, and no one showed signs of backing down.

The ship swerved again as it flew over the plains of Shimia, trying to find a better range on the last remaining ships. This caused Kura roll almost off the edge, but she grabbed onto the edge at the last second.

Now, she hung off the side of the ship, holding on by one hand. He other arm hung limply at her side, as she was injured.

The battle continued as Ahsoka was unaware of the peril her friend was in, but Aurra Sing had not failed to notice.

Finally, she kicked Ahsoka away and advanced upon Kura, who still hung on the edge of the ship. She raised her foot to stomp on Kura's hand, but before she could, Ahsoka tackled her, slamming her away from Kura.

With usage of the Force, Kura hauled herself back up on top of the ship.

Ahsoka stood over Sing, saber pointed at her throat. "Are you okay Kura?" she called back.

"Mm-hmm." Kura groaned.

"Now, as for you-" Before Ahsoka could continue, Aurra kicked her away. But, instead of retaliating, she ran to the edge of the ship and jumped off.

Ahsoka ignored this and ran to Kura, helping her to her feet.

"You alright?" she asked.

"Arm…" Kura groaned. It hurt intensely.

"Come on. "Let's get inside before we fall off." She grabbed up Kura's lightsabers, which had miraculously not fallen off the roof during the battle.

Boba turned slightly as they entered from the hatch. "Did you defeat Sing?"

"Yeah." Ahsoka said. "She ran off though. Just as well. Got any bandages?"

"What for?"

"Well, I got a bruised lekku, and Kura took a lightsaber wound to the arm…"

Boba desperately wanted to get up and check on her, but there were only two ships remained chasing the twi'leks and they were so close to taking them out. "Check the bedroom. I keep some medical supplies stashed in the closet."

"Got it."

* * *

Aayla looked out the window again. "They're gone!"

"Who's gone?" Kit asked.

"Kura, Ahsoka, and Sing. All of them have disappeared from the Slave I, or at least it looks like that…"

"Well, let's hope none of them fell off." Kit said.

* * *

Alilia gasped as she looked out the window. "One ship remaining!"

"Good." Lyn gritted, still hunched over the controls as she served and spun around mountains and rock formations. "I'm getting rather tired of this."

* * *

"What's the report on the Jedi?" Aayla's voice came over the transmission at Boba.

"Both of them made it out without any major injuries."

"Good. And Sing?"

"She escaped."

"Dang it!" there was a snort of frustration on the other end. "Well, at least she's gone, for now."

* * *

Kura awoke with a start. She remembered that Ahsoka had volunteered to fly them back to Cholganna after the last ship had been destroyed, and then she proceeded to order them both to get some rest.

Now, she lay against Boba as he slept. His arms were wrapped around her in a firm embrace, her hands were clasped in his.

Her arm still throbbed from the gash she had sustained, though not as bad. She felt sleep pulling her back in. She was safe, and that was all she needed to know.


	18. Chapter 18

Kura hopped off the Slave I eagerly when it arrived back on Cholganna two hours later.

She breathed deeply of the humid air. "It's good to be back."

"Well, we missed you." Ahsoka fistbumped her.

"And I missed this place. Tatooine was all dry and dusty." She shuddered.

"Yay!" Oola came running from the building and latched herself onto Aayla Secura's leg. "You're back!"

Master Luminara came out at a slower pace. "So it may seem." She nodded at Kura. "Master Sai, it is good to have you back."

"I'm glad." Kura said.

Luminara went up to Aayla and murmured in her ear. "Maybe next time you go on a mission that your Padawan cannot accompany you on, perhaps you can find a younger Jedi to look after her. The child is quite rambunctious and I find it hard to keep up with her in my advanced years."

Aayla smiled. "I will take that into consideration."

* * *

Kura entered her room. Nothing had changed. Same messy bed. Same messy papers. Same clothes hanging upon the closet door.

She couldn't wait to get back into some regular clothes. She wore her Jedi robe over the slave garb still, but the right sleeve of the robe had become ripped from the lightsaber wound she had sustained, so she would just have to do without it for the time being until it was fixed.

She tightened the red scarf about her middle after she had finished changing into her other clothes. It felt good to be back in her old clothes again.

She gathered up her slave outfit and marched out of her room, dumping it down the trash chute triumphantly.

Now, off to find food.

* * *

Fortunately, dinnertime had not been far off at that point.

Boba raised an eyebrow as Kura walked over with more food than usual. "Are you going to eat all of that?"

"I'm hungry." She said. "Ration bars aren't very filling you know, and I've forgotten how good fruit tastes!"

Ahsoka slid in across from them. "Are you seriously gonna eat all that?"

Kura threw up her hands in exasperation. "Come on guys; is it really that out of the ordinary?"

"Yes." Boba and Ahsoka said in unison.

"In other news…" Ahsoka said. "The twi'leks have all made it back to Ryloth and have been reunited with their families."

Kura fistpumped. "Yes! They all got out alright!"

"I see slavery hasn't changed you." Boba muttered.

"Is that a bad thing?"

He paused. "…No."

* * *

Later on, Kura sat outside, meditating in the evening light. It felt good to be home. She listened to the breeze rustle the leaves on the trees. She listened to the crickets chirp. The dark cells and cold stone were only distant images now.

She opened her eyes as she heard footsteps approaching. "Boba, I'm never going to get any meditation time in if you keep on interrupting me.

"I just want to make sure you're still here." She heard his voice behind her. "I don't want to see you carried off again."

Kura looked back at his figure, illuminated in the orange light of the setting sun. "Seriously?"

"I am dead serious." He stared down at her with his same steady gaze. "I don't want to lose you again, especially to slavers like that. You're lucky you got away alive. I have seen worse fates in Jabba's court."

"The twi'leks did mention a Rancor, and they thought that I was crazy for trying to escape, but they went along with it."

"They didn't know just how crazy you are." He picked her up to his eye level. "I missed that."

Kura cocked her head. "You did? I thought that annoyed you."

"But I still missed it."

"That's good to know." She flapped her arms. "Now put me down. Might as well go inside now since you interrupted me."

"Fine." He brushed a quick kiss across her forehead before setting her down.

They walked off toward the base, hand in hand.

* * *

That night, the Jedi slept peacefully, knowing with assurance that there were no Jedi missing or in peril. But what they did not know, was that somebody had followed them, and was now lurking in the shadows outside the Jedi base.

* * *

**As you can see, it's still not over. xD I've snuck a few more surprises into this.**


	19. Chapter 19

Kura tried to sleep, but for some reason she was restless. Her bed felt nice and soft after the days and nights on the hard stone, but she just couldn't get comfortable. Something didn't feel quite right.

Oola pattered out of the Padawan quarters. She was parched, and in need of some water.

She walked down the dark hallways of the base. After a week living at this place, she had just about memorized the layout.

The halls were dark and silent. Everybody was asleep. The only noise was from the rain that had started to fall at some point.

* * *

Two figures stole through the rain toward the Jedi base. They had followed the Slave I all the way from Shimia. Even through the dark and the rain and the vines and leaves that covered the structure, they were still able to find it.

They stopped in front of the door. It was locked.

The taller of the two used the Force, opening the door at will. They stole inside.

* * *

Oola set down her empty water cup in the sink and started to make her way back to the bedroom. She paused in the doorway. She thought she had heard something.

She looked around the hallways. It was virtually pitch black. She couldn't see anything. All of a sudden, this had turned very, very creepy.

She scurried down the corridor, eager to get back to her room. The rain still pattered on the roof, granting her a little comfort in the dark atmosphere.

She rounded and a corner, and was faced with a figure.

"Don't move." A voice hissed.

* * *

Ahsoka sat up in bed. What had woken her? She looked around the dark confines of her room. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

She listened to the rain pound outside. There seemed to be nothing different, but something was up.

She slid out of bed and donned her slippers. She went to the door, paused, and came back, grabbing her lightsaber. Just in case.

The door hissed open. The togruta Jedi peered out into the dark hallway. She ignited her saber, illuminating the corridor in green light. She looked both ways. Nothing.

She started walking down the hallway. Maybe her mind was playing tricks on her. They had all been stressed out the past week. Maybe she needed something to eat.

She walked around the corner and toward the kitchen, and then almost fell on her face.

"What the heck?" she muttered, steadying herself against the wall. She had almost fallen over as she stepped on a slippery substance.

She knelt down to inspect it. It appeared to be a wet, muddy boot print.

Ahsoka frowned. Who had been walking outside in the rain? She stood and looked down the hallway. In the green light of her saber, she saw a trail of them. Two sets. Her frown deepened. Two people out in the rain? What was going on?

She followed the trail around another corner. She looked up, and saw two masked figures at the end of the hallway. Much to her horror, she saw that one of them held Oola.

"Hey!" she shouted. "You let her go!"

The one that wasn't holding Oola pulled out a blaster and fired at her.

Ahsoka deflected the bullet with her saber, and the two took off.

"Stop!" Ahsoka roared after them. She started to run, but the slippers she was wearing tripped her up. She threw them off her feet and ran after the assailants.

She rounded the corner and saw the masked villains run into another room, otherwise known as Kura's bedroom.

Kura shot awake. She had finally managed to get to sleep, but it was a fitful rest. Now, there were people bursting into her quarters.

She grabbed her lightsabers and shot to her feet, scattering papers everywhere.

One of the assailants paused, surprised by this, but the other one took off with Oola.

The pause was enough. Ahsoka ran the figure through with her lightsaber.

Lights came on in the hallway and footsteps pounded. Aayla and Kit came running from one direction, and Boba came running from another.

"What…" Aayla gasped, staring at the dead body on the floor.

"What's going on?" Kit asked.

"Intruders." Ahsoka said.

Kura was still standing on her bed, lightsabers drawn. She recognized the dead body as Boushh. At some point he had regained his armor, for that was what he was wearing now. She was still shocked and startled. Had they come to take her away again?

Boba walked over and lifted her from the bed, setting her on the floor.

"Relax." She heard his voice close to her ear. "No one can take you away now."

Ahsoka gasped. "Oh no! There were two of them! And if this one doesn't have her, then the other one…"

The Jedi looked at each other for one second, and then took off. Kura ran after them, and followed them out into the storm.


	20. Chapter 20

The Jedi ran out into the rain. Lightsabers were activated, shedding light through the oncoming downpour. The wind whipped around them violently as they ran through the trees.

Kura tossed Boba her blue lightsaber as they ran.

"What's this for?" he yelled through the roar of the storm. "I can't use it!"

"You're going to have to try! Besides, my right arm is still hurt and I couldn't use it anyway!"

Boba had to admit that Kura had a lot of courage. For somebody who was so afraid of storms, she was willing to run out into the middle of one if need be.

"Oola!" Aayla yelled as they ran. Yelling hurt her throat, for she still retained the wounds from the arboreal octopus. She couldn't sense anything through this storm. She couldn't concentrate.

Ahsoka climbed her way to the top of a tree. She knew it was dangerous to do that in a middle of a storm, but this was an exception. She stared out over the swaying treetops of the forest, hoping to see some indication that Oola was out there, but nothing was betrayed.

She dropped back down to the ground.

"Did you see anything?" Kit asked.

Ahsoka shook the mud and wet leaf pieces from her hands. "No."

"We need to find her soon." Boba said. "If I know a bounty hunter, they won't stay around much longer if they have found what they wanted, which I am assuming is the girl."

"How do you…?" Ahsoka shook her head. "Never mind."

"Aayla," Kit said. "Focus. See if you can locate your Padawan through the Force."

"Okay." Aayla tried to relax and focus, which was difficult considering they were standing in the middle of a raging storm.

Everybody fell silent as Aayla stood there. Suddenly, her eyes flashed open. She pointed off to her right. "That way!"

They all took off through the mud.

Running through a dense forest during a storm was no easy task. The branches of trees flailing in the wind whipped their faces. The muddy ground made it easy for them to slip, and the vines and the roots on the ground tripped them and thorns scratched them and ripped at their clothes.

Despite all this, Aayla Secura was out in front. She could sense her Padawan growing nearer.

* * *

Oola had fought and kicked as hard as she could to escape from her captor, but nothing seemed to work.

The masked assailant had grabbed her in the hallways of the Jedi base. There had been two of them, but one of them had disappeared. She had seen and heard Ahsoka coming after them, but she had gone as well, and her captor had dragged her out into the storm.

The rain battered down at them as she was hauled through the forest. Despite her efforts, the captor showed no signs of letting go.

Suddenly, she heard a voice.

"Oola!"

It sounded like Aayla!

Oola struggled harder, but the arms that held her clamped tighter around her.

"Quit moving!" a voice hissed.

Oola bit down hard on the hand around her mouth. The captor let go with a yelp.

"HELP!" Oola screamed at the top of her lungs. "HELP AAYLA!" She was cut off as hands clamped around her mouth again.

"Shut up!" the voice growled.

* * *

Aayla paused in mid-run, causing Kit and Kura to bonk into her from behind.

"What?" Kit asked.

"Shh!" Aayla silenced. "Hear that?"

They fell silent and listened hard through the storm. They heard Oola's cry for help echoing through through the rain.

"We're close!" Aayla said as she started running again.

* * *

The captor continued to drag Oola through the forest. She hoped that Aayla had heard her call for help.

Suddenly, the captor stopped.

There was the sound of lightsabers being activated, and four Jedi and a bounty hunter stepped from the forest, illuminating the place in multicolored light.

"Let the girl go." Aayla said, pointing her blue saber at the assailant.

There was the sound of another saber being drawn, and there suddenly was a red blade at Oola's throat.

"You leave or she dies." The captor hissed.

"Sing!" Boba growled.

"Well, well, well." She turned to face him. "Somebody who remembers me. I am quite surprised that you out of all people decided to join them. And, I see that you have fallen for the little Jedi." She directed the comment at Kura. "Apparently, I never knew that the Jedi have been hiding deep in the Outer Rim all this time, but now I have stumbled upon you, quite by accident it seems. You seem dim when it comes to making sure you're not being followed. And to think, I only came for the little twi'lek to take her away. I knew she was Force sensitive from the beginning, and I wanted to do away with her to prevent the Jedi from sprouting up again, but it appears you have been hiding out here all along."

"You would not dare reveal the Jedi!" Aayla gritted out. "We are a stronger force than you think!"

"Really now?" Aurra said, still holding the lightsaber at Oola's throat. "The little Padawan here doesn't do much to prove that to me."

"Let her go, Sing." Boba said.

"Sorry." She said. "I don't let Jedi go."

Oola regarded Aayla with terror as she was held. She knew what to do, but she didn't know if she should do it.

She was going to do it. The little twi'lek tried to focus on the Force, and pushed Aurra Sing away from her.

The bounty hunter at least stumbled backwards, for the push hadn't been all that considerable, but it was enough for Oola to scramble away and run behind Aayla.

"Ready to give up now?" Ahsoka asked.

"Not a chance." Aurra smiled coldly. "Bring it on, _Jedi_."


	21. Chapter 21

The Jedi clashed with the bounty hunter.

Boba hung back. He didn't know the first thing about lightsaber combat, and Aurra looked like a formidable adversary. He certainly didn't want Kura fighting her, but it looked like he didn't have a choice.

Aurra whirled and slashed, somehow managing to hold the four Jedi, which was especially impressive considering all four of them were Jedi Masters.

Oola hid in the bushes, hoping to hide herself from the menacing woman. She was without a weapon to use, and she certainly did not want to be taken again.

Suddenly, there were only three Jedi battling the hunter. Kura had disappeared.

She had climbed up into a tree, which swung in the still raging storm. She watched the ongoing battle below her, waiting for the right time to jump down.

The Jedi backed Sing up to the tree fringe, and Kura took her chance. She hopped down onto Sing's shoulders and sent her tumbling into the mud.

Aurra growled in rage at being overtaken by the little Jedi. She picked Kura up with the Force and swung her against a tree.

Boba watched, momentarily frozen in shock and horror as he saw Kura's small body slump to the ground.

Aurra picked herself up from the dirt, snarling: "Good riddance!" She turned and engaged the remaining Jedi.

Boba's gaze darkened as it fell upon Aurra. That was it. He pulled out the lightsaber Kura had given him previously and ignited it, the blue light shining through the darkness. He ran forward at Aurra's unprotected back.

As soon as he reached her, she whirled and their sabers clashed in a shower of blue and red sparks.

"What are you doing, Boba?" Aurra gritted out. "I've never seen you like this!"

"No one hurts Kura Sai and gets away with it!" Boba growled back, and he pushed her away from him.

"Fine." Aurra said. "If you want it that way, you leave me no choice."

Boba somehow managed to hold off Aurra, despite the fact that her skills were far superior to his. Maybe it was the rage talking. Every now and then, his gaze would stray back to Kura's body, who still lay prostrate in the mud. He saw Oola bending over her, attempting to wake her. At least she was receiving some help.

The pounding rain and the ongoing fight had churned it up, causing it to become slippery and slick. Kit had almost fallen over once.

Several times, Boba barely missed being struck by Sing. He didn't know how he managed to last this long.

Finally, Aurra spun and kicked him backwards into the mud. She raised her saber to slash down at him, but suddenly there was a figure in front of him, blocking the strike.

Kura Sai stood there, blocking the strike with her yellow lightsaber.

"Haven't I killed you yet?" Aurra hissed.

"Boba, go!" Kura urged.

"No way!" Boba said, rising to his feet.

Aurra swept Kura aside with the Force, sending her sliding away through the mud. She turned to focus on Boba. "Now to get rid of you." Before he could react, she pushed him backwards with the Force, sending him slamming into a tree.

"No!" Kura yelled, having seen what had happened. She stood and flew at Sing, crashing into her regardless of danger. She and the bounty hunter went sprawling into the mud together.

Ahsoka ran at Sing, who lay face down in the mud. Before she could strike down at her, the hunter rolled over and blocked the move. She sprung to her feet and engaged Ahsoka and Kit again.

Kura had gone unnoticed. She picked herself up off of the ground. Sing's back was turned to her. Slowly, she undid the red scarf from around her middle. She crept up behind the bounty hunter and whipped the scarf around her neck. She pulled hard on it.

Sing dropped her lightsaber in shock, choking. Kura swung her around, throwing her to the ground.

"It's over Sing." Kura stood over the fallen hunter, holding her lightsaber to her throat as she gasped for breath.

Aurra stared up at her, pure hatred radiating from her black-lined eyes as the rain continued to batter down on them.

Suddenly, she rolled out of the way of the lightsaber and jumped to her feet. She grabbed up her saber with the Force and took off into the darkness of the forest.

Ahsoka started to go after her, but Kit stopped her. "Let her go, Ahsoka. We have greater things to worry about at the moment."

"But she knows where the Jedi base is! What if she reveals it to the Empire?"

"We'll have to worry about that later."

"Oola!" Aayla called out. "Are you alright?"

The little twi'lek stepped from the bushes tentatively. "I think so…"

Kura ran to where Boba lay. Her head hurt immensely from where it had been hit, and her right arm ached, but she didn't care.

"Please be alive… Please be alive… Please be alive." She muttered to herself. He still held her lightsaber, which was clasped loosely in his hand. She felt his wrist, and to her relieve, felt a pulse. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Oola asked fearfully.

"I hope so." Kura murmured. She gently took her lightsaber from his hand and clipped it onto her scarf

"He's alive?" Ahsoka asked hopefully.

Kura nodded. "At least."

"Good. Now let's see if we can get him back to the base."

* * *

"He'll be okay?" Kura asked anxiously.

They had somehow managed to get Boba's unconscious body back to the base, with some muscle power and usage of the Force.

The medical droid had examined Boba, and was ready to give his verdict. "He sustained some wounds, though not serious. They will be aching for a day or two however. He should be up and about very soon."

"Good."

* * *

Ahsoka stood before the holograms of the Jedi council in the transmission room.

"So, Aurra Sing has escaped with information to the Jedi's whereabouts." Said Master Kenobi, troubled.

"It appears that way." Ahsoka said.

"This is most troubling." Master Ki Adi Mundi said.

"We can only hope that she does not hand over this information to the empire." Master Shaak said. "It could mean the destruction of the Jedi: the thing we have feared for so long."

"Thank you for your report, Master Ahsoka." Plo Koon hissed. "We will think of something in due time. May the Force be with you."

Ahsoka bowed as the holograms faded. "May the Force be with you as well."

She exited the transmission room and made her way to the Infirmary.

"Is he going to be okay?" She asked Kura as she entered.

She nodded. "I think so. We just have to wait till he wakes up."

Ahsoka handed her an apple she had picked up. "Here."

"I'm not hungry."

"Dude! You just went through a fight for your very life! You can't possibly be not hungry! You can eat while you wait for him to wake up."

"Eh, I guess you're right." She took the apple as she settled down to wait for Boba to awaken.


	22. Chapter 22

Boba groaned as he came awake slowly. His body hurt. The last thing he remembered was Kura blocking Sing when she had attempted to kill him, and then her pushing him backwards with the Force. Then there was nothing.

Now, he was awakening on a soft surface, a bed, in what appeared to be the Jedi base Infirmary.

Kura was so relieved and overjoyed to see him awake that she completely forgot herself. She leaned down and kissed him.

When she pulled back, her face turned red as the realization of what she had done settled upon her.

Behind her, there was a laugh from Ahsoka, who sat in a chair a few feet away wiping off her lekku with a towel.

"Shut up!" Kura hissed, her face as red as it could possibly be.

Boba was mildly surprised by this. Never had she been that forward before, though he wouldn't mind being knocked as much if he woke up to that each time. He sat up slowly. The muscles in his back ached from where he had been hit.

"Are you okay?" Kura asked tentatively.

"I think so." Boba winced. "What happened to Sing?"

"We defeated her." Ahsoka said. "But she made off with our location, which is bad if she reveals to the Empire."

"Oh." Boba growled. "Did everyone make it okay?"

"I think everyone made it out with only scratches and bruises except for you, and of course we were all dirty and wet."

"Has anyone slept?"

"I'm pretty sure we're the only ones still awake. We were waiting for you."

"Considering that was your first time with a lightsaber, I'd say you did pretty well." Kura said.

"I think I'll stick to blasters."

Ahsoka placed her towel to one side. "You all should get some sleep. I know I need some."

Kura rose from her chair. "Sounds like a great idea."

* * *

Kura lay on her bed in her room, flipping through some of her old drawings before she went to sleep. Down the hall, she heard a door slam.

"Kura!" Boba's voice called.

"What?" she responded.

Her door opened and he stepped through. "This yours?"

Kura turned to face him. Boba stood there, with his left arm extended. Hanging from his arm was a Jawa, who seemed perfectly content swinging on his arm.

The scene looked so funny that Kura couldn't help but burst into a fit of giggles.

Boba was un-amused. "You had something to do with this, didn't you?"

"No!" Kura giggled. "It must've stowed away in one of our ships on Tatooine!" She rose and unhooked the Jawa from Boba's arm. "Hey little buddy. Are you looking for your twi'lek friends?"

The Jawa nodded vigorously.

"Alright. Let's see what we can do."

* * *

Later on, Boba lay in his room, letting his thoughts circulate as Kura slept on top of him. She had been more tired than she had let on, and had fallen asleep while Master Luminara was coordinating the dealings with the twi'leks on Ryloth and the Jawa.

Now, she slept on, curled on his chest.

She had been through a lot in the past week, from being enslaved in Jabba's palace, to the confrontations with Sing, but she never failed to make him feel warm inside, even though he never let it on.

He watched her breathe slowly. He knew that she was a Jedi Master, capable of great things, but he still felt like she needed to be protected. She looked so small and fragile.

She had even once told him: "_You never hit a girl. Want to know why_?"

"_Why?_"

"_Girls are very fragile creatures_."

Aurra had made off with information to the Jedi's location. As far as he knew, they had been in hiding ever since the end of the Clone Wars, and they had not been found. But now, she could give away the information to the Empire. He knew she probably would do it. She hated the Jedi, and she had performed acts so cruel that even he couldn't do. And the thought of Kura taking on someone like that… He hugged her a little tighter.

At least they were safe for now. It would take Sing a while to reach the Imperial base, and the Jedi on the other planets were keeping a lookout.

Maybe there would be a way to stop her, but the Jedi Council would figure it out. And at least for now, he could sleep in peace.

THE END

FOR NOW

* * *

**So, that marks the end of my second major fic, and there will be another sequel at some point. Though it will be harder with school starting soon.**


End file.
